Is there a need for a 'green technologies' subforum?

[opie]

I'm surprised at how polarizing a single word like "Green" can be, it goes to show how important semantics are.

When first reading Dave X10's post, I thought, "I must have missed a post" as I didn't understand what in the world he was talking about. Being "in the business" I am used to "Green Tech" as a marketing term so I had to challenge my interpretation of the term (which is a good thing) to see the other point of view.

I don't really pay that much attention to which forum topics are in unless I'm posting a new topic so I guess It's not a big deal either way.

 

[samgreco]

I vote yes. Whatever your "ideology" is, there can still be much to learn from green tech. I for one, would:

a: like to save money
b: stop sending money to places in the world that I don't want to support
and
c: just in case they're right, save the planet

Besides, we may discover all kinds of cool things if we keep pushing that envelope. And above all, I am a geek that wants to discover things.

 

[pete_c]

I think mine came out as " I don't care" but really meant "Yes, but limited to the integration of HA and green tech".

I don't use my recycling contain these days but remember using it about 20 years ago. I'm not sure how much money I'm saving dimming my lights.

I did order a bunch of different 12V LED Landscaping MR16's today. I tried a few years back and didn't really like them. I've been testing a 1 Watt Cree Led outside (in the weather) now for about 2 years and it still works fine. So today I order a "few" 3 Watt LED's from a US company and a HKG company to compare the two.

Personally I believe our great grandchildren will need to protect themselves from the sunlight by the time they are our age - it'll just be normal for them though.

 

[Dave X10]

.............. I did order a bunch of different 12V LED Landscaping MR16's today. I tried a few years back and didn't really like them. I've been testing a 1 Watt Cree Led outside (in the weather) now for about 2 years and it still works fine. So today I order a "few" 3 Watt LED's from a US company and a HKG company to compare the two.

I switched to CFL's more than a decade ago... and have been using LED's for about 5 years.

I replaced over 100 watts of low-voltage landscape lighting with less than 16 watts of LED's. PLUS I was using 45 watts of 120V outside lighting that I replaced with two 3.5 watt LED bulbs and a solar lamp post. That's a savings I can see on my electric bill. Of course... to see a saving I have to turn a blind eye toward the cost of buying of the lights.

The LED lawn lamps do have a greenish tint to them... not the pretty white I got from the [formerly used] halogen lights.

I also use a BUNCH of motion sensor lights for security and safety. I use a "mix" of halogen, CFL, and [only one] LED in the motion detectors. So I can light my yard bright enough to play a ball game... by merely walking out there with the ball. But in reality.... some of the lights go weeks or months without being triggered on.

Personally I believe our great grandchildren will need to protect themselves from the sunlight by the time they are our age - it'll just be normal for them though.

Even my grandmother knew to wear scarfs and hats.... but [the goodnews is] the sunlight/ozone scare from a few years back is ending quickly. Conditions have greatly improved since the 80's with a complete recovery predicted.

Most of the recent "climate warming" hoax has been openly unraveling in European news. I don't understand fully why the AP doesn't see it as news worthy. But.. the facts are clear. There was only a two year warming trend in the late 90's. The data shows.. that same warming trend effected at least three of the planets in our solar system (four planets if you count the Sun). It seems clear at this point that increased solar temperatures were due solely to increased surface temperatures on the Sun.

 

[tmbrown97]

I initially clicked "Sure, anything goes" but reading on, also agree maybe we should just avoid it.

My first thought was discussions about LED Bulbs vs. standard; using automation to save energy (all lights off when exit timer expires; stuff like that); and using virtualization to eliminate the 12 "servers" sitting in your basement... talks of wind/solar power and the DIY tech that goes into it, etc. Those are the topics I enjoy.

But, just seeing the posts above, and thinking about this thing gaining ground on search engines, every used-french-french-fry-oil-powered-subaru-driving-tree-hugging-hippie is liable to find our forum and potentially change the nature of the whole place. Not to mention, many environmentalists are women - that'd be scary to have a bunch of them poking around our board!

so I amend my vote - if we can make a "green home automation" forum and limit it to the green aspects of what we already do, then sure (I have an open topic right now related to green - my Charging Station one)... but if it's an "anything goes" topic, it needs its own board.

**Maybe hide it from non-members and search engines so only those who came here for home automation even see it? Just a thought...

 

[Monk]

Dan has pretty much said this ain't happening - but I haven't beat a dead horse for what seems like decades, so -
:horse: :horse: :horse: